The transcontinental MoroccAmerican Music Festival was presented to the public in the school auditorium, in collaboration with Ticonderoga music teachers Jolene Harrigan and Michael Iturrino and George Washington Academy music instructor Megan Walls.

Walls, a 2006 graduate of Ticonderoga High School, came up with the idea.

Now back in Morocco, Walls said her students loved visiting Ticonderoga and seeing what life is like there.

“The kids had a fantastic time in Upstate New York; it was hard to get them onto the plane Saturday,” she said. “My students loved staying with their host families and fostering new friendships with Ticonderoga and Moriah students.

“It was a priceless opportunity for students from different parts of the world, who speak multiple languages and are of different faiths, to come together for a common cause and create something wonderful together.”

George Washington Academy School Board member Meredith Delghiti came along on the trip as a chaperone.

“It’s exciting,” he said. “It’s going great. The kids learned they might have a lot more in common than they thought.

“Music is international,” Delghiti continued. “They were preparing the same pieces of music. Now they brought it together.”

She said on the first day they got to see New York City.

“New York City is big,” she said. “This is a more natural part of the country, very welcoming and very pleasant. They’re staying in local homes, in some homes 100 years old or more.”

The George Washington students were going to shadow Ticonderoga students in school for part of the next day, she said.

“They’ll get to enjoy some of that,” she said. “They studied the battles at Fort Ticonderoga in school.”

George Washington Academy student Amira Jaques, another alto sax player, said she was happily making friends in Ticonderoga.

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Students from Ticonderoga High School and George Washington Academy of Morocco took a lunch break before rehearsals for a public concert recently.

Photo by Lohr McKinstry

“We’re eating local,” she said. “In the morning, we’re having breakfast at the Hot Biscuit Diner. Our hosts are nice, very welcoming.”

The Hot Biscuit Diner, a local legend owned by the Dixon family, is a favorite of Walls, who talked about it so much in Morocco that students couldn’t wait to try it out, Jaques said.

Iturrino said the Ticonderoga High School Music Department had a meet-and-greet for the visitors the night before the event.

“They auditioned,” he said. “We did some games. That was a crucial moment coming together. Our students were surprised they’re actually not much different than them.”

Walls brought 19 students in grades 7 to 11, with multiple nationalities, including French, Swiss, Indian, Moroccan, Canadian and American.

Iturrino said with 4,000 miles separating the two schools, everyone realized it would be unforgettable.

“It’s a once in a lifetime experience,” he said. “Rehearsals have gone really well. We knew it would be a good concert.